Trade News

FRANKFURT -- Daimler said a late-quarter recovery in demand spared the automaker from losing as much money as analysts were expecting.

The company reported a preliminary second-quarter loss of 1.68 billion euros ($1.9 billion) before interest and taxes in a statement Thursday.

Daimler said that this was an improvement on the consensus estimate for 2.1 billion euros ($2.4 billion), and that free cash flow and liquidity also held up better than expected.

Daimler and its peers were decimated by the coronavirus pandemic, with measures to contain the disease sending production plunging to levels last seen in the wake of World War II.

Although plants and showrooms have now largely reopened, business is returning unevenly, with car sales in Europe coming back more slowly than North America or China.

The results are "consistent with a generally improving commentary from German manufacturers in recent weeks," Philippe Houchois, a Jefferies analyst …

DETROIT — A federal court magistrate Thursday granted a request by former Volkswagen executive Oliver Schmidt to carry out the remainder of his seven-year prison sentence for his role in the automaker's massive diesel emissions fraud in his native Germany.

Schmidt, 51, appeared via video conference before Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Stafford of the U.S. District Court in Detroit from the federal penitentiary in Milan, Mich., west of Detroit.

The former Volkswagen engineer — who at one time headed up the automaker's compliance office in suburban Detroit and admitted to plotting with other company executives to cover up its cheating on diesel emissions — has been in prison since his arrest at the Miami-Dade County Airport in January 2017 while returning from a Christmas holiday in Florida. He pleaded guilty in December that year before U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox to two felonies, a violation of the Clean Air Act and conspiracy to defraud the United State…

Penske Automotive Group said its U.S. vehicle sales improved from May to June and the nation's second-largest new-vehicle retailer expects to post a profit when second-quarter results are planned for release July 29.

The retailer said Tuesday that it expects second-quarter earnings per share from continuing operations to range from 52 cents to 57 cents. The company, whose business was hampered early in the quarter amid the coronavirus pandemic, said improved June franchise business in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, expense management and robust sales upon reopening used-vehicle supercenters last month aided results.

"I am encouraged by the significant improvement in our operations during the month of June," Penske CEO Roger Penske said in a statement. "Our performance in June is the result of a strong operational focus to control costs, manage vehicle inventory and maximize gross profit."

Penske said it plans to repay $300 million in senior debt notes …

DETROIT -- Autopilot, ProPilot, CoPilot.

Automakers have many names for new systems that allow for hands-free driving, but no safety or performance standards to follow as they roll out the most significant changes to vehicle technology in a generation.

Spurred by Tesla Inc.'s success and eager to start profiting from billions spent on autonomous driving research, automakers are accelerating plans to automate routine driving tasks such as cruising on a highway and make them widely available within five years, industry executives said.

Most traditional automakers until recently had resisted allowing drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel for extended periods, concerned about product liability claims. Now, hands-free driving systems offer a new and sorely needed source of profit for automakers and suppliers such as Aptiv, especially when this technology is packaged with other extra-cost options.

"Consumers are willing to pay extra -- som…

For years, two knocks against Tesla were that a constant churn of executive turnover would catch up to Elon Musk, and that an onslaught of electric models from Volkswagen Group and others would put him in his place.

Now, the tables have turned.

VW's electric offensive has sputtered, with software issues plaguing its full-electric ID3 model.

And it's the German giant whose executive suites are turning over: in a matter of days, its trucks chief resigned, the leader of its van unit was demoted, and its head of software was reassigned.

Even CEO Herbert Diess's job looked insecure for a moment before VW's supervisory board settled on stripping him of responsibility for the company's namesake division.

The circumstances of each individual's cases vary, and VW continues to have a massive advantage over Tesla in many respects. But some investors are concerned it might not be coincidence that all four VW executives in question were external hires …

TOKYO -- Nissan Motor Co. is planning a 30 percent year-on-year cut in global vehicle production through December as falling demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic complicates its turnaround efforts, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Japan's No. 2 automaker plans to produce around 2.6 million vehicles between April and December, down from 3.7 million during the same period last year, the people said. Nissan made 4.6 million cars in the financial year ended March.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as the information is not public. Nissan, which has yet to announce a sales forecast for this financial year, declined to comment on its production plans.

Global automakers are struggling after factories were shuttered earlier this year to stem the spread of the pandemic.

Car dealerships were also closed in many countries, pummelling vehicle sales in March through May, although the fall in sales slowed in June as economies start…

BMW has signed a deal with Northvolt for 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) to supply battery cells to power the automaker's electric vehicles.

Northvolt, a Swedish company started by two former Tesla executives, will manufacture the cells using renewable electricity at a new plant in northern Sweden and deliver them starting in 2024 as part of a long-term contract, BMW said in a statement Thursday.

Local access to batteries is becoming key for automakers trying to become less dependent on dominant suppliers in Asia.

Northvolt will become BMW's third major supplier for the technology, along with China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. and South Korea's Samsung SDI.

The deal is also meant to aid BMW's push into electric cars. The automaker plans to introduce five new battery-powered vehicles through next year and offer more than 12 electric models by 2023.

BMW unveiled the iX3 SUV Tuesday, the brand's first electric vehicle to use its flexib…

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer warned Wednesday that the state's auto factories could be shut down again if residents don’t follow her order to wear masks and slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“If Michiganders don’t mask up when we go out in public, cases could rise and we could be forced to close down more of our businesses, including auto manufacturing plants that employ thousands,” Whitmer said at a press conference in Lansing, Mich. “A second wave of this virus could be absolutely devastating.”

The warning comes as automakers crank up output at factories to try to meet surprisingly strong demand, especially for pickups, crossovers and SUVs. General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles temporarily shuttered factories in Michigan and elsewhere in the U.S. in March to help control the COVID-19 outbreak.

Whitmer cleared the way for those plants to reopen in May amid signs the pandemic was receding in the state.

Among automakers d…

Subaru Corp. and Subaru of America have been hit with a lawsuit seeking class action status over fuel pumps.

The lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, alleges that the Japanese automaker sold vehicles "with defective low-pressure fuel pumps that cause unpredictable acceleration and engine stalls and render the affected vehicles unsafe to operate," court documents said.

The lawsuit points to an April recall of 188,207 vehicles in the U.S. for potentially faulty fuel pumps. The recall covers certain 2019 models of four nameplates: the Impreza compact sedan and hatchback, Legacy midsize sedan, Outback midsize crossover and Ascent large crossover. All are built at Subaru's Indiana plant.

According to a safety recall report posted on NHTSA's website, the low-pressure fuel pump may include an impeller that was manufactured with a lower density. If the impeller's surface is exposed to solvent drying for longer periods of time, it may de…

Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk and other Tesla employees are not at risk of having contracted the novel coronavirus after a July 3 meeting with Oklahoma's governor, who said on Wednesday he had tested positive for the virus, a spokesman for the governor said.

"That visit was more than a week before the governor may have been contagious. There is no risk to any Tesla employees from the July 3 visit," Charlie Hannema, a spokesman for Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a statement, adding an additional meeting with Tesla executives on Monday was conducted virtually over Zoom.

"The science now is that an infected person is only possibly contagious 48 hours before the onset of symptoms," Hannema said, adding that since Stitt's symptoms developed on Monday, anyone in contact with him before Saturday is not at risk of exposure.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on whether company employees, including Musk, have been tested for the virus or other measures …

The merged unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group will be known as Stellantis, the two automakers said Wednesday.

The automakers said the name "will be used exclusively at the group level, as a corporate brand" and that the names and the logos of the group's constituent brands will remain unchanged.

The companies said the name is rooted in the Latin verb stello, which means "to brighten with stars." The companies said the next step will be the unveiling of a logo.

"The name's Latin origins pay tribute to the rich history of its founding companies while the evocation of astronomy captures the true spirit of optimism, energy and renewal driving this industry-changing merger," the companies said in a statement.

The group will create the world's fourth-largest automaker. PSA's considerable footprint in Europe could complement FCA's strength in North America.

The completion of the merger is expected in the first quarter of 2021.

Vehicle sales took a dive in the early weeks of the deadly coronavirus outbreak, but for several finance and insurance product companies, sales have never been better. And each month, those sales keep improving.

The reason could be a combination of factors, those companies say, but success incorporating F&I product information into dealership digital retailing channels is key.

Paul McCarthy, senior vice president of national sales at AUL Corp. in Napa, Calif., said June was the F&I product company's best month in 30 years, particularly for service contract sales. The growth marked a 20 percent increase over the company's previous best month in service contract sales, which was in March.

"Our rise in product sales — it's not simply attributable to an increase in car sales," McCarthy said. "It's an increase in awareness for consumers that it's wise to protect this investment that they're making."

The more confide…